Bad direction makes Choke’ hard to swallow

Al Alexander

Thursday

Sep 25, 2008 at 12:01 AMSep 25, 2008 at 3:58 AM

Don’t expect “Choke” and its array of failed gags to leave a lump in your throat. Not that it doesn’t try, as first-time director Clark Gregg force-feeds eccentricity and pathos in large, indigestible chunks.

Don’t expect “Choke” and its array of failed gags to leave a lump in your throat. Not that it doesn’t try, as first-time director Clark Gregg force-feeds eccentricity and pathos in large, indigestible chunks.

Based on a novel by Chuck Palahniuk, the author of the mind-twisting “Fight Club,” “Choke” seldom strays beyond the realm of a world populated by bizarro characters testing the parameters of the surreal.

It’s unlikely to resonate with anyone outside of stoners and pseudo-intellectuals, who will insist that the nonsensical dialogue is actually cleverly disguised musings on the absurdities of life and love.

Well, they’d be half-right; “Choke” is indeed absurd. It’s also convoluted, biting off more than it can chew on matters as vast as horniness, child neglect and the quest for human connection.

All of which are issues affecting the feckless Victor Mancini, a sex-addicted historical re-enactor desperate to bond with his emotionally abusive mother before her imminent demise due to dementia.

Although exquisitely played by Sam Rockwell and Anjelica Huston, you never care a hoot about the trivial crosses they’ve borne over the course of a long, strange trip that frequent flashbacks indicate began when Victor was a child dragged from town to town by the selfish vagabond he calls Mom.

Part of the problem is the lack of chemistry between the two actors. But the larger issue is in Gregg’s flat, ineffectual adaptation of a novel not well-suited to a big-screen treatment.

Like Palahniuk’s “Fight Club,” “Choke” exists entirely in the mind, where it’s free to adapt to each reader’s interpretation. On film, that bond is removed, forcing the viewer to see it only the way the filmmaker sees it, making the experience far less personal.

Some directors can get away with that lack of intimacy, like David Fincher with “Fight Club.” But most can’t, especially ones as inexperienced as Gregg, an actor best known for his role on TV’s “The New Adventures of Old Christine.”

Like a lot of stars who want to direct, Gregg is excellent at inspiring exceptional performances from his cast, but is in a fog when it comes to matters of composition and tone.

“Choke” is indeed ugly to look at, and the shifts between the light and dark aspects of the story are almost always jarring, further robbing the story of any sense of reality.

All of which makes Rockwell’s ability to hold your interest on charm alone all the more impressive.

His Victor is a sexist, womanizing boor, but Rockwell infuses him with such passion and guile that you’re totally understand why his mother’s new doctor, Paige (Kelly MacDonald from “No Country for Old Men”), is so tempted by his aggressive flirtations.

Rockwell and MacDonald also share the easy, natural rapport lethally missing between he and Huston. You want to root for the young would-be lovers, but you also want to root for them in the confines of a better movie, especially one greased with enough humor and heart to make all that whimsy a lot easier to swallow.